TL;DR

Torridge District Council in north Devon has defended a letter it sent in May supporting an AI Growth Zone bid by Xlinks, which wants to build a £13bn data centre and battery storage site at Great Torrington. Campaigners found the letter through freedom of information requests. The council said, in a statement reported on 9 November by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, that the bid failed and the letter is “no longer active”.

What the letter said

An officer signed the letter after sign-off from council leader Ken James and estates lead Bob Hicks. It said members had been briefed on the proposals and were “initially supportive of the higher-skill, higher-salaried focus employment opportunities”. It also noted that the scheme had received pre-application planning advice from the council.

Huw Thomas, a Green councillor for Bideford East, says the letter followed what he called “a sales pitch” by Xlinks, before the scale and location were known. He says half the council’s 36 members, 18 in all, were at the informal briefing, that those present did not endorse the plan, and that nothing was circulated to those who were absent. He plans to bring a motion asking for formal withdrawal on 5 December.

The council’s answer

The council says the letter supported Xlinks’ expression of interest in round one of the national AI Growth Zone scheme, as a way to explore higher-skilled jobs and tackle social mobility problems in the area. Because that bid was unsuccessful, it argues, there is nothing to withdraw, and it knows of no current application.

James said it “was not a letter that indicated support for the specifics of a future data centre or its proposed location”.

The scheme

Xlinks’ plans, made public in June, cover 850 acres of farmland above the town, with buildings as tall as 40 metres. No planning application has been lodged so far for the data centre or the battery site. Opposition has included regular protests in Torrington and Bideford, where we covered a September rally. Residents’ concerns include its location inside a UNESCO biosphere reserve and its effects on water and wildlife.

What it means

In our view, the row shows how AI Growth Zone bids can create commitments before local politics has caught up. A letter meant to keep options open can read as endorsement once a scheme becomes contentious. For councils approached by data centre developers, the lesson is to put any support for a Growth Zone bid to elected members first, and to say clearly what it does and does not cover.